Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Inc. economist-in-residence and consultant Gary Kunkle launched a research study of more than 100,000 U.S.-based midsize businesses (those with 85 to 999 employees). Conducted throughout 2013. What the study showed:

1% of companies produced 75% of job growth in a region.

These 1% evidenced sustained incredmental growth all the time, vs sporatic growth.

"What do these companies have in common? Well, let's first take a look at what they don't. First off, these companies don't look much alike. They don't cluster in predictable industries or geographic locations. They don't serve the same customer segments. And they're no more likely to be long-established organizations than to trace their roots back only as far as the dot-com bust."

"The bottom line: There are two big themes to come out of the first Build 100 survey. First, the leaders of these companies repeatedly indicated that growth owed more to cultural factors such as how well employees work together, how they interact with customers, and how they collaborate on problem solving than to, say, financing or product attributes." Second, "The survey also showed that how you treatyour employees really does matter. For example, there's a direct connection between the sharing of financial success with employees and higher revenue growth and productivity."

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Which consumer is better off due to the drop in oil prices, a person in the USA or a person in Europe?

Since the start of the summer oil prices have dropped from $105 to under $50.

At the same time, the US Dollar has strengthened significantly against the Euro.

The price of oil is expressed in US Dollar terms. Thus from a European perspective, the strengthening dollar has reduced the degree of drop in oil prices from the Euro perspective. For the US consumer the price of oil has dropped 53%, while for the European consumer it’s dropped just 46%. If you’re a US consumer thinking about a trip to Europe, with a little more spare change in your pocket and the US Dollar stronger than it's been in seven years, now might be a great time to go.